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Bravo, Mohammed out Red Force opener

Chadwick Walton of Guyana Amazon Warriors is run out by wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin of Trinbago Knight Riders during the Hero Caribbean Premier League Play-Off match 31 between Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders at Guyana National Stadium last night in Providence, Guyana on September 11.
Photo by:Randy Brooks - CPL T20

Batsmen Darren Bravo and Jason Mohammed both failed to beat the fitness clock to be ready in time for the opening match of the CWI Regional Super50 tournament which bowls off this afternoon at the Queen's Park Oval in Port-of-Spain. The first ball is at 2 pm.

Both players have been receiving therapy after picking up hamstring injuries during the Hero CPL T20 tournament which concluded on September 16. They have been part of the team that was preparing for the match against the Windwards but will sit out to become spectators.

The duo's omission was confirmed by the coach Kelvin Williams yesterday. According to Williams, a former T&T all-rounder, "Both guys will be missing out on this game because they are not ready just yet. They have progressed nicely but we can't take any chances with them, as we have a long series." T&T Red Force will have a total of 10 preliminary round matches at home before the semi-finals and final of the tournament in Barbados.

Red Force has been strengthened for this tournament with the return of the senior men in Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Sunil Narine, Keiron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul and Lendl Simmons. They will all play under the leadership of wicketkeeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin.

Manager of the team Roland Sampath is quite happy with the team spirit at the moment, "These guys have not played together for T&T for quite a long time and as a result, they are keen and really looking forward to playing together again.”

Sampath said everything is in place for a great challenge for the title and the only little worry at the moment is whether the players will be able to transition quickly from the T20 mode to the 50 overs format.

“These guys are coming in from CPL and also from all over the world playing T20 cricket and we are hoping that they transition very quickly into the longer format. Apart from that, we know the power we have and it is just a matter of playing together and sticking to the basics to get the desired results.”The T&T Red Force last won the title in 2016 but has failed in their last two attempts to lift the crown.

They open against the defending champions Windwards and given the strength of the Red Force they will start as favourites.

Captain Shane Shillingford said Volcanoes possessed a strong squad with good, young players, and would not be intimidated by the likes of Red Force or Jaguars.

“In general we’re just going to play cricket; we don’t play names. Everybody starting at one point to get to where they are, so we’re just going to play cricket and look out for good things to come,” the former West Indies off-spinner noted.

“I think we have a very good all-around team, especially with the youngsters. It’s always good to see the youngsters performing and even out-performing the senior guys so that’s always a plus in our team. Once you win a tournament like that, it’s a good thing for your team.”

Also in action today will be Canada who comes up against the Windies B led by Marlon Samuels at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba. On show will be a number of young hopefuls for the Windies and locals will be keen to see how countrymen Kirstan Kallicharan, Leonardo Julian, Cephas Cooper, Jayden Seales, Brian Charles, and Yannic Cariah fares.